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Tuesday, May 2, 2017

RSA: Questioning the Questing

While I have seen NPCs use Quests on characters as a plot hook (or just to mess with them), I don't know that I have ever seen it used by a player character.

I was going to combine this Random Spell Assessment with the 6th level MU spell, Geas. But that one is sufficiently different in the details that I felt I should save it for its own entry later.

Because it's a high level spell (5th), it will be a little while before a cleric character uses this one. It's also not one that the character is likely to pray for by default. Dispel Evil and Raise Dead tend to be the go-to 5th level spells. I imaging Quest is one you use as part of a plan.

The spell has a range of thirty feet, which seemed odd until I thought about it. It makes sense you would be close enough to speak to the subject of the spell.

In a nutshell, Quest forces the subject to perform a task (or quest). It can't be out and out suicidal, and it's ONE task (singular).

The consequences of refusal is a curse. the exact nature is decided by the DM (not the caster). The wording here is a little vague. Is a refusal to out and out say "No!" or does procrastinating and ignoring the quest count too? I would tend to rule toward the latter.

Looking at the reverse of Remove Curse gives a DM some fun ideas for curses.

One interesting tidbit is that Remove Curse won't get rid of the quest-related curse. Only the reverse Remove Quest can; and that isn't a sure thing if the one who imposed the quest is higher level than the remover (-5% per level lower).

I think that if I were running a mid to high level cleric, this would be a very handy spell for getting annoying NPCs to be useful, even if it's just making them go on a pilgrimage to some far off holy site. You could gather information (lying is refusing the terms of such a quest), enlist aid in some task, or even target someone else for assassination (not very nice, but possible!).